8th Pay Commission Salary Hike: The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the ‘Terms of Reference’ of the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC) on 28 October. Apart from this, the government has also constituted the new CPC and issued its notification. The commission will have to submit its recommendations to the government within 18 months of its formation. Under the Eighth Pay Commission, about 50 lakh central government employees, including defense services personnel, and about 69 lakh pensioners will benefit.

Why is the 8th Pay Commission the most expensive?

It is being told that the Eighth Pay Commission will be the most expensive pay revision in the history of India so far because due to the huge increase in the number of employees and pensioners and the demand for major changes in the fitment factor and allowances, this time it is expected to be the biggest financial burden on the government treasury. More than 1.2 crore families will be affected by the salary revision under the Eighth Pay Commission. These include more than 50 lakh central employees and more than 65 lakh pensioners.

Currently, under the 7th Pay Commission, the minimum basic salary is Rs 18000. Under the 8th Pay Commission, various employee organizations have demanded to increase the fitment factor from 1.92 to 3.83 times. Organizations like Bharatiya Immunity Mazdoor Sangh have even proposed to increase the minimum basic pay from Rs 18000 to Rs 72000 (4 times fitment factor).

Proposal to increase allowances also

Organizations like All India NPS Employees Federation have demanded increasing the HRA from 30%, 20% and 10% to 36%, 24% and 12% respectively in view of the rising cost of living in big cities. Since all the allowances are decided according to the basic salary, if the basic salary increases, the expenditure on allowances will also automatically increase. Recent reports show that the total expenditure on increased salary and pension under the 8th Pay Commission may reach more than Rs 4 lakh crore. Including the arrears of the last five quarters, the total financial burden can reach close to Rs 9 lakh crore, making it the most expensive salary revision till date.

Also read:

Adani Group is preparing India’s ‘Einstein’! RSI-India: Students of the country will get free scientific training in 2026

8th Pay Commission: The 8th Pay Commission is visiting different parts of the country and holding meetings, in which suggestions (inputs) are being taken from various employee unions, organizations, serving employees, pensioners and other stakeholders. In this sequence, two-day consultation meetings have been organized in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on 22-23. Earlier, meetings have been held in Delhi, Hyderabad, Srinagar and Ladakh.

The notification of the meeting to be held in Lucknow was released on the official website of the 8th Pay Commission on 21 May 2026. This visit of this commission, constituted by the Central Government on November 3, 2025, is a big step towards deciding the salary, allowances and pension structure of more than 1.1 crore central employees and pensioners of the country.

Which issues will be discussed?

It is being told that in the two-day marathon meetings in Lucknow, representatives of employee organizations can present their views before the commission on minimum basic salary and new fitment factor. A demand can be made from their side that the fitment factor in the 7th Pay Commission was 2.57. Now there is a demand to increase it to 3.68-3.83. If the demand of 3.83 fitment factor is accepted by the Commission, then the minimum basic salary of central employees will directly increase from Rs 18000 to Rs 69000 per month.

Also read:

8th Pay Commission: How much will be the salary increase in the 8th Pay Commission? Understand the complete mathematics of ‘fitment factor’ here

8th Pay Commission: Big news is coming for central government employees and pensioners. The increase in salary and pension under the 8th Pay Commission is expected to be implemented by April 2027. Dr. Manjit Singh Patel, head of All India NPS Employees Federation, said that this is the possible deadline for the implementation of the Eighth Pay Commission as the Commission has only time till April or May 2027 to finalize its recommendations.

The prices of everything from milk to petrol-diesel, LPG etc. have increased. Many food items have also become costlier than before. In such a situation, employee unions are demanding a higher salary increase and an early update to help cover essentials like housing and healthcare. On the other hand, the Commission is also actively holding meetings with employee unions in cities like Hyderabad and Srinagar before deciding its final plan.

Time given was 18 months

The central government had issued a notification for the formation of the commission in November 2025 and was given 18 months time to prepare its recommendations. This deadline is ending around April-May 2027. According to All India NPS Employees Federation, if the Commission submits the report on time or a little earlier, then employees and pensioners will start getting increased salary or pension from the beginning of the new business year i.e. April 2027.

You will also get the benefit of arrears

Even though the payment of increased salary or pension is from 2027, it will be considered applicable retrospectively from January 1, 2026. Due to this, the employees will get the entire dues of the previous months in lump sum. If this really happens, then in the coming time, central government employees and pensioners are expected to get relief to a great extent amid this rising inflation.

Also read:

Donald Trump: So Trump also invests money in the stock market, know on which companies the US President has bet.

8th Pay Commission: Employee unions have put forward many demands regarding the 8th Pay Commission. One of these is to increase the family unit from 3 to 5. This is so that the base of salary calculation can be increased. This will also increase the minimum basic salary and allowances.

In fact, the salary calculation for millions of central government employees is still based on a formula which was designed keeping in mind the very small Indian family. Now, employee unions are demanding the 8th Pay Commission to rewrite this formula. He argues that today’s modern families can no longer survive based on the beliefs held years ago.

Need to change the formula

Since the time of independence, a formula was used to determine the minimum wage in India. In this it was believed that there were three units in an employee’s family. Employee himself, spouse and 2 children. The government used to fix the minimum salary according to the living standards of these three people. Now the employees say that in today’s time they are also responsible for the elderly parents, hence the formula should be changed and it should be made 5 units – employee + spouse = 1 unit.

Parents = 2 units (1+1)

Total- 5

His argument is that when the expenses of 5 people have to be borne, then the salary calculation should also be according to 5 people.

How much will it affect the pocket?

If the government accepts the formula of 5 units instead of 3, then there can be a bumper jump in the salary.

Minimum salary- It may increase from the current Rs 18,000 to around Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000.

Pension and allowances- It is obvious that if the basic salary increases, then DA, HRA and pension will also increase in the same proportion.

In simple words, increasing the unit means that the government will now accept that now the employee has to bear the expenses of 5 people instead of 3 people, hence he should get more money.

Also read:

Be it biscuits, namkeen, or soap-detergent… these daily used products are going to be expensive, see the list.

Meanwhile, demands are being raised to expand the scope of the 8th Central Pay Commission to include Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS), who are currently out of the Central Pay Structure. There is a strong demand to include about 2.75 lakh Gramin Dak Sevaks in the ambit of the 8th Pay Commission. MP Ambika G Lakshminarayan Valmiki has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting to include GDS also in the purview of the commission. According to the media report, while giving his views, the MP said that GDS play an important role in increasing the access of people to postal services in rural areas and they perform their responsibilities at par with their counterparts working in cities.

Will 69 lakh pensioners not get the benefit of 8th Pay Commission? Employees union wrote a letter to the Finance Minister